Anderl Heckmair | The Independent Anderl Heckmair Leader of the first ascent of the north face of the Eiger Thursday 3 February 2005 00:00 BST Click to follow The Independent Online Anderl Heckmair led the first ascent of the north face of the Eiger. This dramatic event, played out over four days in July 1938 on the Swiss mountain, marked the climax of the race to climb the great north faces of the Alps. Reinhold Messner has proposed the Heckmair route as not just the one of the greatest climbs of all, but "even a work of art" in its expression of the "seriousness and playful self-realisation" at the heart of mountaineering. Andreas (Anderl) Heckmair, mountaineer and guide: born Munich 12 October 1906; twice married; died Oberstdorf, Germany 1 February 2005. Anderl Heckmair led the first ascent of the north face of the Eiger.

This dramatic event, played out over four days in July 1938 on the Swiss mountain, marked the climax of the race to climb the great north faces of the Alps. Reinhold Messner has proposed the Heckmair route as not just the one of the greatest climbs of all, but "even a work of art" in its expression of the "seriousness and playful self-realisation" at the heart of mountaineering. History, however, is more ambivalent about the Eiger climb. Heckmair and his fellow German Ludwig Vörg joined forces on the face with the Austrians Fritz Kasparek and Heinrich Harrer. The symbolism of Germany and Austria united in heroic struggle only four months after the Anschluss was a gift to the Nazi propaganda machine and the climbers were feted by Adolf Hitler. A photograph of the four standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Führer has become one of the most disconcerting images in mountaineering - an activity too easily given to exploitation for nationalist ends. Heckmair professed no interest in politics.

Although he and his partners felt honoured to be plucked out of anonymous lives and decorated by "the most famous man in Germany", the same thing could have happened to a dancing bear, he said. "I had no way of foreseeing where the Nazi road would lead." His own road had been a rocky one, both metaphorically and literally. He was born in Munich in 1906; his gardener father died in the First World War, leaving the family in poverty. Anderl and his older brother Hans were sent to the Munich orphanage as "semi-orphans". Leaving school in 1920, he worked as a gardener, but, as his addiction to the limestone walls of the Wilder Kaiser took hold, he became a less than ideal employee. On Mondays and Tuesdays he would be tired after the Sunday's hard climbing, on Wednesday he would have to go the funeral of a climber whose body he had helped carry down - the death toll amongst the young tigers of Munich was alarming - and then on Friday and Saturday he would be saving his energies for Sunday's climb.

Like many of his contemporaries, he quit regular work and became a mountain vagabond, cycling on trips to the Dolomites, the Chamonix peaks and even to Spain en route for the High Atlas. Frank about most things in his 1972 autobiography Mein Leben als Bergsteiger (published in English as My Life as a Mountaineer, 1975), Heckmair admits losing his innocence off an alleyway in Marrakesh but insists that "money did not come into it". Occasional work as a ski instructor or mountain guide kept the wolf from the door until, in 1937, got an unusual break - a request to guide the actress-turned-film-maker Leni Riefenstahl, a favourite of Hitler's, on climbs in the Brenta Dolomites. Riefenstahl took a shine to Heckmair, with his chiselled features and daring reputation, and whisked her guide off to Nuremberg, where the pair stayed in the residence of the gauleiter (the infamous Julius Streicher), took tea with Hitler at the Deutscher Hof Hotel and then stood by his side on the balcony for a torch-light parade.

For the first time in his life, Heckmair raised his hand in the Hitler salute. The next 12 months of Heckmair's life have been trawled over by researchers trying to establish to what extent the North Face climb may have been state-sponsored, but the picture remains fuzzy. Riefenstahl took him to stay with her in Berlin, where he says he eschewed politics and city life for training for the Eiger. He returned to Bavaria that winter and worked as a ski instructor. In the spring, he took up a post as a guide with the Ordensburg at Sonthofen in the Allgäu, little more than a grammar school in Heckmair's belated explanation, though Hitler envisaged these "Castles of the Order" turning out a generation that would "arise to cause the world to recoil in terror". Mountaineering was a means of toughening this future élite. Heckmair and Vörg, already working as a sports trainer at the Ordensburg, apparently declined direct funding for the Eiger but went off with the school's blessing and a stack of subsidised climbing gear. Heckmair was the ideal man for the Nordwand.

He had made the first direct ascent of the north face of the Charmoz, duelled with the Grandes Jorasses, above Chamonix, and spent six weeks in 1937 skulking around the foot of the Eiger working out the route. The Swiss had actually banned climbing on the face after six deaths, while the blimpish editor of the Alpine Journal, Col Edward Strutt, denounced it as "an obsession for the mentally deranged". The 6,000ft face can be imagined through the graphic names of its features - Difficult Crack, Ice Hose, Death Bivouac, Brittle Ledge, Traverse of the Gods, the Spider and Exit Cracks - plus three precipitous icefields. It is also a very public arena, climbers providing a Big Top spectacle for "Eigerwatchers" with their telescopes on the balcony of the hotel at Kleine Scheidegg. Heckmair and Vörg caught up with Kasparek and Harrer on the Second Icefield. The Austrians, having set off on 21 July 1938, had already spent one night on the route and were amazed to see the Germans "running" up behind them.

Here lay the key to success. Heckmair and Vörg had realised the Nordwand was predominantly an ice climb, and had come equipped accordingly, rather than for the rock route others had supposed it to be. The two Germans also used 12-point crampons for the first time; items of kit that revolutionised ice and steep snow climbing. Instead of laboriously cutting each step with an ice axe, they could simply kick their way up, the two spikes at the toe-end of the crampon biting into the slope to give instant purchase. The 12-pointers were part of the new equipment Heckmair and Vörg had collected from Sporthaus Schuster in Munich, with the Ordensburg picking up the bill. Kasparek and Harrer were envious. And, unlike the two Germans, they were actually Nazi Party members. The meeting transformed the Austrians' chances on a face notorious for storms and stone fall, where speed is a life-saver. Kasparek wore less efficient 10-point crampons and Harrer had only nailed boots. Heckmair took the lead and Harrer, as last man on the rope, collected the metal pitons, his pack getting ever heavier.

As with the Anschluss, the Germans were the dominant partner. Yet ironically, it was Harrer's name that became most associated in British minds with the Eiger through his classic account of the climb, Die Weisse Spinne ( The White Spider, 1959). Despite Heckmair's initial misgivings, the four formed an effective unit, and remained for the most part in high spirits (yodelling included), even when a storm overtook them high on the route. Heckmair took several falls, on the worst of which one of his crampon points drove right through Vörg's thumb, and the quartet survived repeated avalanches. On the summit on 24 July, they shook hands, scratched the ice from their eyebrows, and struggled down through deep snow to an extraordinary reception at Kleine Scheidegg. It was climbing's first media scrum. Heckmair recalled that at dinner an official from the German embassy in Berne made a speech "full of unpleasant nationalistic phrases". It seems reasonable to accept Heckmair's insistence that he was apolitical and only interested in success as a climber.

In the manner common among today's top climbers, he seized the offer of free gear and any other assistance that suited his ambitions. Regrettably for him the "sponsor" had more sinister aims than product promotion. Heckmair remained with the Ordensburg until the outbreak of the Second World War, when due, he said, to "political unreliability" he was sent to the army. Vörg was killed on the first day of fighting on the Eastern Front and a similar fate could have befallen Heckmair had he not been posted back from Russia to a mountain training unit near Innsbruck. An officer, and rival on the Grandes Jorasses, had pulled strings and Heckmair spent the rest of the war amongst climbing pals. Thereafter, he worked as a guide and ski instructor and went on long expeditions, notably with his wealthy patron the industrialist Otto-Ernst Flick. Their travels included easy climbs in the Ruwenzori, Rockies and the Andes. Stephen Goodwin USC Cinematic Arts | School of Cinematic Arts Events School of Cinematic Arts Events View Related Pages Make Reservations » January 31, 2010, 7:00 P.M.

The Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108, George Lucas Building, 900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007 The School of Cinematic Arts and Music Box Films invite you and a guest to a special advance screening of Based on a true story Directed by Philipp Stölzl Written by Christoph Silber, Rupert Henning, Philipp Stölzl and Johannes Naber 7:00 P.M. on Sunday, January 31st The Ray Stark Family Theatre, George Lucas Building, SCA 108 900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007 FREE ADMISSION. OPEN TO ALL. WINNER - German Film Critics Award, Best Screenplay 2009 WINNER - German Film Academy Award 2009, Best Cinematography WINNER - German Film Academy Award 2009, Best Sound Design OFFICIAL SELECTION - Locarno Film Festival 2008 ABOUT NORTH FACE Based on a true story, North Face is a gripping adventure drama about a competition to climb the most dangerous rock face in the Alps.

In 1936, Nazi propaganda urges German Alpinists to conquer the unclimbed north face of the Swiss massif, the Eiger, bringing two reluctant climbers, Toni Kurz and Andi Hinterstoisser, to begin their daring ascent and attempt to scale the infamous rock face, often called the Murder Wall. While preparing themselves at the foot of the North Face, Toni and Andi unexpectedly run into Luise, the early love of Toni. Now a journalist, she has come with her boss Arau, a loyal Nazi, to report about the first ascent. Toni begins the ascent of the North Face with Andi, closely followed by two Austrians Willy Angerer and Edi Rainer. All goes well at first as both rope teams make good headway but then the climbers lose their advantage over the mountain and the race against time and the forces of nature begins. Opens at select Los Angeles theaters on Friday, February 12th, 2010. Provided courtesy of Music Box Films. Not Rated. Running time: 121 minutes. In German with English subtitles. To learn more about the film and view the trailer, click here .

THE MYTH OF THE EIGER NORTH FACE With its many spectacular incidents, the Eiger North Face – the legendary 1800-meter-high wall of stone and ice in the Berne Oberland – has been casting its spell for decades, not only on climbers but also on mountain-climbing laymen. The general public came to see the Eiger as the epitome of a dangerous, difficult and often death-bringing mountain. The vividness and urgency with which this image has burned itself into the collective mind may be surprising, but can be explained. The myth of the "Eigerwand" came into being in the 1930s, when altogether nine Alpinists lost their lives trying to scale the mountain before the first successful ascent in July 1938 by the two Germans Anderl Heckmair and Ludwig Vörg, and the two Austrians Heinrich Harrer and Fritz Kasparek.

Ever since the summer of 1935 the North Face had been seen among the top Alpinists as the "last problem of the Western Alps." This situation exerted an almost magical attraction on mountain climbers, especially those from Germany, Austria and Italy, who then set the bar on the level of proficiency required for the Eiger. The burning wish to be the first to ascend the wall, which easily crumbled and was endangered by rockfall and subject to sudden massive changes of weather, sometimes resulted in forced expeditions in dubious conditions. And this led to tragedies, some of which are still shrouded in mystery to this day. Others unfolded over the course of several days, before the eyes of the press, who were able to describe the dramatic events on the Eiger from the comfort and safety of the hotel terraces of the Kleine Scheidegg. The public also benefited from the mountain's location and touristic infrastructure. Nowhere else could one experience Alpine history as genuinely and simply as at the Eiger: whether on hiking paths below the North Face or, thanks to the Jungfraubahn, from the impressive lookouts in the Eigerwand Station. The Eiger was a vertical amphitheater.

No other Alpine mountain was the scene of more reporting before World War II than the Eiger. The newspaper and radio reports were swiftly followed by the first books, which spread the fame of the idols – the successful and the fallen – of "heroic Alpinism" throughout Europe. This myth has experienced a renaissance since 1999, when an ascent of the classical route was broadcast live on television and obtained excellent ratings. Although mountain climbing at the Eiger has fundamentally changed – more and more new and difficult routes are being opened up on the North Face – it is still generally the older, dramatic stories that keep the Eiger at the center of the public's interest. (Written by Rainer Rettner, with kind permission by AS Verlag) Swiss Alpinist Stephan Siegrist served as a stunt double during the filming of North Face. Check out his website to see stunning images of his ascent of the Eiger: ABOUT OUTSIDE THE BOX [OFFICE] Outside the Box [Office] is a weekly showcase for upcoming releases highlighting world cinema, documentary and independent film titles. Recognizing a need for greater diversity on campus, the series will draw from around the globe to present movies that may challenge, inspire or simply entertain.

The weekly screenings will be on Wednesday nights (and other select dates, as they arise) in the School of Cinematic Arts Complex, George Lucas Building. To view the calendar of screenings, click here . ABOUT CHECK-IN & RESERVATIONS This screening is free of charge and open to all USC students, faculty, staff and alumni. Please bring a photo ID or print out of your reservation confirmation, which will automatically be sent to your e-mail account upon successfully making an RSVP through this website. Doors will open at 6:30 P.M. ABOUT PARKING The USC School of Cinematic Arts is located at 900 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007. Parking passes may be purchased for $8.00 at USC Entrance Gate #5, located at the intersection of W. Jefferson Blvd. & McClintock Avenue. We recommend parking in outdoor Lot M or V, or Parking Structure D, at the far end of 34th Street. Please note that Parking Structure D cannot accommodate tall vehicles such as SUVs. Free street parking is also available along Jefferson Blvd.

Contact Information Conqueror of Eiger North Face dies - SWI swissinfo.ch Conqueror of Eiger North Face dies more... Feb 2, 2005 - 14:38 The team which conquered the Eiger North Face in 1938, led by Anderl Heckmair (second on the right) (Keystone) Andreas “Anderl” Heckmair, who led the first team to conquer the notorious north face of the Eiger in the Swiss Alps, has died aged 98. The successful climb in 1938 was a sensational feat and made Heckmair – a German mountain guide – world famous. “It was an exceptional feat considering that the other two outstanding Alpine peaks, the Matterhorn and France’s Grandes Jorasses, had already been conquered,“ said Christine Kopp, a Swiss author and journalist specalising in mountaineering. “The Eiger was a myth and was dubbed ‘The Ogre’ by climbers,” Kopp said. Previous attempts to climb the awesome 1,800-metre wall – one of Europe’s greatest challenges – had cost the lives of eight alpinists before Heckmair tackled it.

Heckmair and his compatriot Ludwig Vörg began their ascent on July 21, 1938 using special equipment. Following a snowstorm and a series of avalanches they teamed up with two Austrians, Heinrich Harrer and Fritz Kasparek, who had set off on their own. Classic route Three and a half days later 32-year-old Heckmair led the four-man rope team to the 3,970-metre Eiger summit where they hoisted the Nazi swastika flag. Heckmair was able to make good progress along the mountain face despite the bad weather and he had a superb sense for choosing the right route, said Kopp. “It was a brilliant mountaineering achievement. He found daring passages in this huge wall that made his route a classic to this day,” she told swissinfo. The success, which was widely covered in the international press and radio, was exploited by Germany’s Nazi rulers for their own propaganda purposes. However, Heckmair never joined the Nazi party, according to his biographers.

Cigar and schnapps After the war he worked as a mountain guide, notably for the multi-millionaire businessman Otto-Ernst Flick, and ran a youth hostel in the Bavarian Alpine resort of Oberstdorf. Germany's professional mountain and ski guides' association was founded at his initiative in 1968. “Anderl Heckmair never forgot his roots,” said Kopp, who met the mountaineer several times. The trained gardener came from a humble background, and went through financially difficult periods in his life. But he had a good sense of humour and was willing to listen and give advice to a younger generation of climbers, said Kopp. “His other trademark was his legendary cigar and he liked his schnapps.” Heckmair died in Oberstdorf, Bavaria, on Tuesday after a brief stay in hospital. He recalled his climbing experiences in several books. His autobiography, Eiger North Face, Grandes Jorasses and Other Adventures, was published in 1999. swissinfo, Urs Geiser Born in 1906, Heckmair is considered one of the greatest mountaineers of the 20th century.

He led a four-man rope team to the summit of the Eiger in July 1938. More than 700 people have successfully climbed the North face since his first ascent, but 50 others have died in the process. Links More... Less... Copyright All rights reserved. The content of the website by swissinfo.ch is copyrighted. It is intended for private use only. Any other use of the website content beyond the use stipulated above, particularly the distribution, modification, transmission, storage and copying requires prior written consent of swissinfo.ch. Should you be interested in any such use of the website content, please contact us via contact@swissinfo.ch. As regards the use for private purposes, it is only permitted to use a hyperlink to specific content, and to place it on your own website or a website of third parties. The swissinfo.ch website content may only be embedded in an ad-free environment without any modifications. Specifically applying to all software, folders, data and their content provided for download by the swissinfo.ch website, a basic, non-exclusive and non-transferable license is granted that is restricted to the one-time downloading and saving of said data on private devices.

All other rights remain the property of swissinfo.ch. In particular, any sale or commercial use of these data is prohibited. Reuse article Conqueror of Eiger North Face dies Urs Geiser Feb 2, 2005 - 14:38 Andreas “Anderl” Heckmair, who led the first team to conquer the notorious north face of the Eiger in the Swiss Alps, has died aged 98. The successful climb in 1938 was a sensational feat and made Heckmair – a German mountain guide – world famous. “It was an exceptional feat considering that the other two outstanding Alpine peaks, the Matterhorn and France’s Grandes Jorasses, had already been conquered,“ said Christine Kopp, a Swiss author and journalist specalising in mountaineering. “The Eiger was a myth and was dubbed ‘The Ogre’ by climbers,” Kopp said. Previous attempts to climb the awesome 1,800-metre wall – one of Europe’s greatest challenges – had cost the lives of eight alpinists before Heckmair tackled it.

Heckmair and his compatriot Ludwig Vörg began their ascent on July 21, 1938 using special equipment. Following a snowstorm and a series of avalanches they teamed up with two Austrians, Heinrich Harrer and Fritz Kasparek, who had set off on their own. Classic route Three and a half days later 32-year-old Heckmair led the four-man rope team to the 3,970-metre Eiger summit where they hoisted the Nazi swastika flag. Heckmair was able to make good progress along the mountain face despite the bad weather and he had a superb sense for choosing the right route, said Kopp. “It was a brilliant mountaineering achievement. He found daring passages in this huge wall that made his route a classic to this day,” she told swissinfo. The success, which was widely covered in the international press and radio, was exploited by Germany’s Nazi rulers for their own propaganda purposes. However, Heckmair never joined the Nazi party, according to his biographers.

Cigar and schnapps After the war he worked as a mountain guide, notably for the multi-millionaire businessman Otto-Ernst Flick, and ran a youth hostel in the Bavarian Alpine resort of Oberstdorf. Germany's professional mountain and ski guides' association was founded at his initiative in 1968. “Anderl Heckmair never forgot his roots,” said Kopp, who met the mountaineer several times. The trained gardener came from a humble background, and went through financially difficult periods in his life. But he had a good sense of humour and was willing to listen and give advice to a younger generation of climbers, said Kopp. “His other trademark was his legendary cigar and he liked his schnapps.” Heckmair died in Oberstdorf, Bavaria, on Tuesday after a brief stay in hospital. He recalled his climbing experiences in several books. His autobiography, Eiger North Face, Grandes Jorasses and Other Adventures, was published in 1999. swissinfo, Urs Geiser Key facts Born in 1906, Heckmair is considered one of the greatest mountaineers of the 20th century.

He led a four-man rope team to the summit of the Eiger in July 1938. More than 700 people have successfully climbed the North face since his first ascent, but 50 others have died in the process. × Eiger : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost The routes visible from the north are shown on an excellent photograph here: Eiger routes . This photo includes all the following routes except the South Ridge. The major routes on the Eiger are: West Flank & West Ridge AD (G4) with III-, 1650m. 6 hours in ascent, 3 to 4hours in descent. The West Flank and West Ridge of the Eiger. The West Flank & West Ridge is the easiest route to the summit and the usual descent route for most parties. Route finding on the lower part of the flank can be very difficult, especially in descent if one has not gone up this way initially. Though not that technically difficult it is a big high alpine tour that can be especially serious in poor weather or conditions.

Recommended equipment is an ice axe, crampons, 2 ice screws, 2 pitons (or nuts / cams) and 4 to 5 carabiners. There are fixed iron rods on the upper part of the route. Charles Barrington with Christian Almer and Peter Bohren, , made the first ascent of the West Flank & West Ridge on 11 August 1858 (also the first ascent of the peak). Below are a close up of the upper West Ridge and two photos on the route: North Face 1938 Route: ED2 (G14) V-, A0, 60°, 1800m, one to three or more days. North Face in dry conditions. Since the first ascent of the face in 1938 there have been numerous new routes and variations on the face including many that end on the West Ridge or NE Face and even several Sport Climbing routes low on the face ( Eiger NF routes ). Still, most climbers seem to be most familiar with and aspire to the original classic 1938 route.

But, note that in recent years much of the snow and the ice has melted back so that late in the season the face is often almost bare. See EIGER NORTH FACE, Successful Firsts for additional information. Below are several climbing shots on classic pitches of the 1938 route. SP members Zwerggaeuer and Bernhard Sauer have climbed the face. To see their photos all together, visit their profile pages. See also this album which includes a video by endy Eiger-2008 Also, see the album by endy of a 2015 ascent. ED (G12) with V, mostly IV+ and III, 50-55°. 1700m, 15 to 18hours Lauper Route The Lauper Route takes an elegant line more or less directly up the Northeast Face. A short trip report in English with exceptional photos by Andreas Frank: Lauper Route Report & Photos Hans Lauper and Alfred Zücher with Alexander Graven and Joseph Knubel made the first ascent of the Northeast Face on 20 August 1932.

Mittellegi Ridge D (G5) with IV & fixed ropes, 4 to 8 hours from Mittellegi Hut Mittellegi Ridge from the Northeast Mittellegi Ridge from the Southeast The Mittellegi Ridge is probably the most popular route on the Eiger. It is a fantastic steep knife edged ridge offering excellent climbing with little or no objective danger. Yuko Maki with Fritz Amatter, Samuel Brawand and Fritz Steuri made the first ascent of the Mittellegi Ridge on 10 September 1921. See First Ascent of the Eiger's Mittellegi Ridge for the interesting story of this climb. Below are several photos taken along the Mittellegi Ridge: South Ridge AD, rock to III, 7 to 9 hours in ascent and another 6 to 7 hours in descent Eiger South Ridge Route from the Southeast The long South Ridge is the second easiest route on the Eiger. George Edward Foster with Hans Baumann and Ulrich Rubi made the first ascent of the South Ridge on 31 July 1876. This ascent was made from the North Eigerjoch, which was reached via the Eiger Glacier.

The party had reached North Eigerjoch from the south in 1874, but did not have time to continue to the summit. The approach via the Eiger Glacier is no longer practical due to crevasse and ice fall danger. Below are some additional views of and on the South Ridge. Huts, Lodging & Camping Alpiglen: Berghaus Alpiglen Camping: Historically, many north face climbers have camped in the meadows above Alpiglen. Camping should be possible in the bowl below the West Flank, and for the South Ridge one could camp somewhere on the glacier between the Mönchjoch and the ridge proper. Recommended Reading The Eiger has more history than could or should be included on a mountain page such as this. There are entire books written about individual climbs and more articles in the literature than could even be reasonably listed here. Recommended English language books in print: The best English language comprehensive history of the Eiger that I am familiar with is EIGER THE VERTICAL ARENA . This book includes many chapters and facts about all aspects of the mountain. If one is interested in a detailed history of attempts and climbs of the North Face, then one must read THE WHITE SPIDER .

Recommended English language books out of print: Hiebler, Toni, NORTH FACE IN WINTER, Barrie & Rockcliff, London, 1962; Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1963. An account of the first winter ascent of the north Face. Gillman, Peter; Haston, Dougal, EIGER DIRECT, Collins, London, 1966; DIRETTISSIMA, THE EIGER ASSAULT, Harper & Row, New York, 1966. An account of the first ascent of the Harlin Route on the north face. (The book by the German team on the climb is entitled EIGER, KAMPF um die DIRETTISSIMA, Chr. Belser Verlag, Stuttgart, 1966.) External Links UKC Articles - North Face of the Eiger - 1938 Route by Jack Geldard - Consulting Editor Apr/2011 This article has been read 69,732 times Hulking perilously above the village of Grindelwald in Switzerland is the infamous north face of the Eiger.

The face - physically the biggest in the alps - also has the biggest reputation. A dizzying 1800m in vertical height, the north face is world famous among climbers and is well known to the general public. It's a magnet for alpinists and tourists alike, some who climb it and many who just gaze up at its magnificent but deadly architecture from the safety of the valley. Rob Greenwood mid swing on the Hinterstoiser Traverse, Eiger North Face. Jack Geldard - Consulting Editor, Apr 2011 © Jack Geldard Renowned for bad weather, bad rock and bad gear, the face is nick-named 'Mordwand', a play on the German name of Nordwand (North face) that means simply 'death wall'. Although the north face now has several routes, by far the most famous and popular is the original route - known as the 1938 route . The route, and consequently the first ascent of the north face, was completed on the 24th of July 1938 by four climbers; Heinrich Harrer, Anderl Heckmair, Ludwig Vörg and Fritz Kasparek. ...an obsession for the mentally deranged...

Alpine Journal editor Edward Lisle Strut - 1938 Prior to and after the successful first ascent the face claimed many lives. According to Wikipedia at least sixty-four climbers have been killed on the Mordwand since 1935. Around the time of the first ascent the wall became the focus of the mainstream media, whose journalists could watch the attempts of the climbers from the valley and report back to their newspapers. This morbid fascination with the killer face led many to believe that climbing it was a suicide mission and the preserve only of lunatics. Given the gear they had in 1938, this may not have been far from the truth. ...a laugh... Rob Greenwood - 2011 Such was the infamy of the face that when the wall was successfully climbed, Harrer, who had arrived in Grindelwald on a beat-up old motorcycle, was crowned a hero and when leaving the village he abandoned his motorbike in a field in favour of the high class rail travel he could now afford.

Early attempts and ascents were made in summer, but due to global warming the entire face has become increasingly unstable, not that it was the most solid of alpine walls to begin with, and the icefields have receded dramatically meaning the route has now become a target only in late autumn, winter and early spring. Made up of rotten limestone, climbers rely on the winter's ice and snow to bond the rock together, meaning summer ascents these days are very rare and would most likely be a mixture of loose rock, pouring icy water and a war-zone of stone fall. Rob approaching Death Bivvy, Eiger North Face © Jack Geldard Technical difficulty of the route When found in reasonable condition, the route's main difficulties are length and commitment. Although the face is 1800m high, the route is probably over 2500m in length, such is the devious nature of the route finding and the constant horizontal traversing required to negotiate the steep rock sections split by ledges.

Jack Geldard gaining the Brittle Ledges, Eiger North Face Jack Geldard - Consulting Editor, Apr 2011 © Rob Greenwood The crux pitches are usually short-lived, but are very steep and are often poorly protected and mainly on almost bare rock. Usually climbed with ice axes and crampons due to verglas and very low temperatures, an estimation of the difficulty of the hardest sections would be Scottish VI,6 or M5. On many of these crux sections the sloping nature of the limestone is very unhelpful for crampon-shod feet, and the mixed climbing bears little resemblance to the more commonly climbed routes on the superb granite of the popular Mont Blanc range. Tenuous smears, old pegs, bad rock and little in the way of leader placed protection characterise these thankfully short and spread-out pitches. I like climbing on Craig Doris [the UK's loosest crag] and I also really like winter climbing, but combining the two is lunacy. E4 2b anyone? Rob Greenwood discovers why the 'Brittle' Ledges are thus named... The name of the game on the Eiger is speed.

Maintaining a good pace whilst keeping a sane level of safety is paramount and most parties choose to move together for most of the route. The icefields are of a suitably low difficulty to mean that, for a fit team, they can be dispensed with very quickly. There is also lots of climbing between the named crux pitches (listed below) and these long sections generally involve climbing of up to Scottish IV. Moving together on these is also the most common tactic. Crux Pitches (With estimated Scottish Grades) The Difficult Crack. The name sums it up well. This is the wall's first line of defence, as up to this point the terrain is relatively easy and low-angled and can be climbed in less than a couple of hours. Some parties only rope up for the first time when they reach this area of the wall. The Difficult Crack is a loose, steep, shattered crack that rears up for 20m then eases off in to a smeary, technical scoop with limited protection opportunities. It has several pegs and slings dangling from its reaches. The Difficult Crack is known for turning back teams who have perhaps bitten off more than they can chew. Approx grade: VI,6.

The Hinterstoisser Traverse. Ice smears thinly cover very blank slabs of rock and the ground rushes out from beneath your feet, but luckily for modern climbers, the traverse has a couple of fixed ropes and fixed protection of pegs and old bolts in to which these ropes are clipped. Whilst not offering any technical difficulties (unless climbed free) the exposure of the pitch means that most will belay and 'pitch' this section. The Ice Hose. The two-pitch link between the first and second icefield, the Ice Hose is very condition dependent. In perfect icy nick it is of a similar difficulty to Green Gully on Ben Nevis (IV,4) and teams don't slow down from their ice-field romping, but if it is dry, or even has water running down it, expect a battle of around VI,6. The Ice Chimney. After a night at the Death Bivvy, most climbers are not looking forward to this pitch for breakfast. This overhanging slot rears up at the top of The Ramp. The steep corner can be a variety of grades depending on the ice build-up, but in dry-ish conditions, expect a short but butch VI,6 with (of course) old peg protection.

The Ice Bulge. Apparently this pitch can be a steep grade V and comes almost straight after the Ice Chimney. The conditions must vary dramatically, as we didn't notice it..! The Brittle Crack. If you haven't filled your trousers on the easy but rather exposed Brittle Ledges, then this little monster might give you the final push. This crack is the only access from the Brittle Ledges on to the Traverse of the Gods and is a steep and quite loose pitch. Tottering rock with a disintegrating hand-sized crack gives climbing of around VI,6. The Quartz Crack. The final crux barrier between you and safety, perhaps the hardest thing about the Quartz Crack is that it comes when you are totally knackered. Another short pitch, this time not too steep, but polished smooth. Smearing in crampons in a contorted corner, but with reasonable protection, gives way to an easier ledge system. VI,6. Jack Geldard gaining the base of the the Upper Ice Fields, just above the Exit Chimneys,...

Jack Geldard - Consulting Editor, Apr 2011 © Rob Greenwood Some Popular Ascent Tactics: Fast and Light: For those uber-alpinists and aspiring Ueli Steck's, the most basic approach is to climb and descend in a single push. This means no bivvy gear is required and the climbers can move fast and travel light. Unless you are a very experienced and fit alpinist or unless you happen to find the face in absolutely amazing conditions, this tactic could well result in a very cold unplanned bivouac, a hasty retreat, rescue or even death. Having said that, it isn't uncommon. The Brittle Ledge Bivvy: A good and popular option, this tactic makes use of a reasonable two person bivvy site next to the Brittle Crack. Take the train system to the Eigergletscher station the day before your planned ascent. Bivvy in an appropriate place (bivvying at the station itself is not allowed). Make a very early start and climb to the Brittle Ledges bivvy site. Sleep. Climb the remainder of the route and descend in the same day. The Death Bivvy: A one or two bivvy option.

Take the first morning train to the Eigergletscher at around 7.30am. Start the route at a reasonable time and climb to the Death Bivvy (By far the best bivvy site on the route. Safe and spacious). This isn't such a big day. Day two: A longer day - climb to the summit ridge and bivvy (there are various good options for bivvy sites close to the ridge) or descend if you have time and energy. Day three: Descend the West Flank. A typical belay on the Eiger North Face - Insitu old pegs litter the route, but other protection is scarce. UKC Articles, Apr 2011 Jack Geldard following the Hinterstoisser Traverse, North Face of the Eiger Jack Geldard - Consulting Editor, Apr 2011 © Rob Greenwood A brief account of our ascent: We took the morning train to the Eigergletsher at around 7:30am after a night of beer and pizza in Grindelwald. To our horror there stood two men, bearded and grizzly, wearing full down suits and Olympus Mons boots.

'Shit,' we thought, 'we're going to freeze to death!'. When the two mitchelin men started chain smoking Marlborough's we thought something was amiss. Then a film crew arrived and we twigged - they were actors pretending to be Himalayan climbers - phew - perhaps we weren't so under-dressed after all. Hot-footing it to the base of the wall, we started the route at around 9:30 I would guess, just in front of a German team and a Swiss soloist. The bottom of the face is easy, so we simul-soloed quickly, weaving around to find the best way and opted to get the rope out just before the Difficult Crack. Rob fired this off without too much fuss and after a few more pitches we simul-climbed quickly up the icefields straight to Death Bivvy. Though we had daylight to spare, we opted to bed down at Death Bivvy due to the space and safety of the site. I finished my pizza and we enjoyed the last rays of sun. The German team arrived some time later, looking tired. The Swiss soloist had opted to bail through the Stollenloch, in to the train tunnel.

Not wanting to be stuck behind the Germans, we were up first next morning and climbed quickly up The Ramp. The ice leading to the Brittle Ledges was black and it took a little route finding to actually gain the ledges, safely navigating our way through unprotected Weetabix. The ledges and the Traverse of the Gods went pretty quickly, although I did have a bit of a tussle leading the Brittle Crack, which just confirmed in my mind that Ueli Steck is a complete mad man. This isn't neve romping he is speed-soloing here, this is steep, loose mixed terrain. The White Spider was just as we imagined, peppered with stones and generally quite a scary place to be, so we climbed it without stopping and headed up toward the Quartz Crack. By this time the Germans were well behind and we could no longer see or hear them. Possibly the technical crux of the route, but short, solid and well protected; Rob balanced his way up the Quartz Crack as if it was just another gritstone boulder problem. I was glad I had a good partner and I followed as quickly as I could.

We blasted up the exit chimneys and final slopes moving together, as quickly as calf burn would allow and topped out in to a fierce and bitterly cold wind, but again with daylight to spare. Not knowing the descent, and having food and fuel spare, we opted for a relatively comfortable night in a snow tunnel on the summit ridge and a leisurely descent the following morning. Jack Geldard digging a snow tunnel in the summit ridge of the Eiger. The summit is visible behind and to the left. Jack Geldard - Consulting Editor, Apr 2011 © Rob Greenwood I dug my side of the tunnel slightly too tight, and leaping in head-first, I soon realised that I couldn't get out! Wiggling feet first out of an icy hole, with a 2000m drop just outside and no crampons on took some doing. Oh the joy of alpinism. We heard the Germans top out around 1am, much to our relief, and the following morning we climbed over them as they laid on top of each other in a heap on the crest of the ridge in the full brunt of the wind. Their gear was strewn around them and the weaker of the pair wasn't saying much.

Whilst Rob and I felt we had climbed safely and with energy to spare, we couldn't help but think 'skin of the teeth' as we gingerly navigated around their abandoned rucksacks, crampons and rack, trying not to knock them down the face below. Back in Chamonix that night, we drank beer and ate burgers until at least 9pm.... zzzzzzz The Panorama from the summit of the Eiger Jack Geldard - Consulting Editor, Apr 2011 © Rob Greenwood Kit List by Rob Jarvis - High Mountain Guides Jack and Rob down at the train station after their ascent of the Eiger. Jack Geldard - Consulting Editor, Apr 2011 © Rob Greenwood Jack Geldard is the Chief Editor of UKClimbing and is a keen climber. The North Face of the Eiger has been a long held ambition of his, ever since he first read 'The White Spider' as a teenage boy. Although mainly a rock climber, he has been known to dabble with snow occasionally. 'Crazy' Rob Greenwood is the UKC Advertising Manager and is based out of Sheffield. He is a keen summer and winter climber, a huge sea cliff fan and a generally nice bloke.

He also runs those super long ultra-endurance races and is consequently very fit. Which is great for him, but not so nice for Jack 'desk jockey' Geldard when he is trying to keep up on long snow slopes... UKC Articles and Gear Reviews by Jack Geldard - Consulting Editor Anniversary of First Ascent of Iconic Eiger North Wall Subscribe Now 75th Anniversary of the Eiger North Wall Route Celebration On 34 July 1938, The German-Austrian team of Anderl Heckmair, Ludwig Vörg, Fritz Kasparek and Heinrich Harrer reached the summit of Switzerland's Eiger via the North Face, making 2013 the 75th anniversary of the first ascent of the world's most iconic alpine north face.

June 10th, 2013 by Gripped Magazine | Posted in International , News On 34 July 1938, The German-Austrian team of Anderl Heckmair, Ludwig Vörg, Fritz Kasparek and Heinrich Harrer reached the summit of Switzerland’s Eiger via the North Face, making 2013 the 75th anniversary of the first ascent of the world’s most iconic alpine north face. The wall had already been the scene of several fatalities and Hitler himself offered a prize for the first German party to climb it. Times have changed: Swiss climber Ueli Steck’s speed record for the face is two hours and 47 minutes.The town of Grindelwald is celebrating the 75th anniversary with a historic display , a media event and some published historical studies, including a fascinating exploration of the true origin of the name. Turns out it couldn’t have been named after the Ogre after all. More likely origins of the name are that it is the family name of the first settlers below the mountain or the Old High German word for spear.

There are also some fascinating videos reflecting on not just the climbing, but on what it’s like living close to the giant face. ARVE Error: no id set Related Entranced by the Eiger | NZ Alpine Club Entranced by the Eiger By Nigel Roberts When Daniel Joll spoke to the Wellington section of the Alpine Club on Wednesday evening, 4 May, about some of the climbs he’d done in France, Italy, and Switzerland, he gave us a modest – almost self-effacing – account of scaling the North Face of the Eiger. About six months ago, he and his climbing partner, Chaz, climbed the original 1938 route in what Daniel described as “two moderate days of climbing.” Daniel added, though, that “a fast and light team would have no problems climbing the route in less than a day in winter if the conditions are good.” The cover of Nigel Roberts’ copy of The White Spider. As a mountain, the Eiger is well-named: it translates as the Ogre.

Although I have been entranced by the Eiger for more than half a century, I couldn’t remember how long the first four climbers had taken to make their 1938 ascent of the North Face, so after his talk I asked Daniel if he knew how long the first ascent had taken. He said he didn’t know, so I promised I’d go home and re-read The White Spider – which is precisely what I did. For those who don’t know it, The White Spider is a climbing classic. It was published in German in 1958 and in English the following year. The author was Heinrich Harrer, whom I initially knew as the author of Seven Years in Tibet – another classic (so much so that it was one of the set texts I had to study for my 1961 matriculation exams). When I first read Harrer’s Seven Years in Tibet, however, I was utterly unaware of the fact that he’d been a member of the four-man team that had successfully completed the first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger in July 1938. The book’s title stems from a spider-shaped icefield high on the North Face.

Die weise spinne funnels ice- and rock-avalanches from all directions at climbers as they try to complete the final third of the climb. I well recall going into town one day during the December 1960 Christmas holidays and buying The White Spider by Heinrich Harrer. It cost me £1.10.0 (or, as it says on the inside flap of the front cover, 30 shillings). In modern terms that’s three dollars – but 30 shillings was a small fortune in the fourth quarter of 1960: it was the equivalent of $128.30 in 2016! When I got home, I went into my bedroom and read the whole book from cover-to-cover in one fell swoop. At dinner my mother asked me what I’d been doing, and when I told her I had finished reading the book I’d bought that morning, she was horrified (and not a little angry). “What a waste of money!”, she exclaimed. My mother died in 2003, but I like to think she’d have changed her mind if she knew that I still have and still treasure The White Spider.

In the years prior to the start of World War II, the North Face of the Eiger – the Nordwand – was widely regarded as the last great unclimbed route in the Alps. Climbers and the public alike regarded the Nordwand with a fascination akin to the mystique surrounding the Matterhorn prior to its first successful ascent by Edward Whymper and his party in 1865. The first serious attempts to climb the North Face of the Eiger were unparalleled disasters: a two-man August 1935 party froze to death in the middle of the Face at what’s now known as Death Bivouac; and all four members of a July 1936 team were killed while attempting to retreat down the Face. The Nordwand acquired a morbid nickname: Mordwand (i.e., Murder Wall).

In July 1938, however, two teams met on the Face: the day after two Austrians, Heinrich Harrer and Fritz Kasparek, began climbing the North Face, two young Germans – Andreas Heckmair and Ludwig Vörg – caught up with them between the Second and Third Icefields, and (as Harrer describes it) “the result of the encounter was neither discord nor rivalry, but a teaming up.” A postcard illustrating some of the routes up the North Face of the Eiger. The solid red line shows the route for the first successful ascent in 1938, which was also Daniel Joll’s route. Despite experiencing a fall, an avalanche, and a storm (“a violent, noisy downpour” that rendered “the whole breadth of the North Face … one fearsome waterfall”), they reached the summit of the mountain at 3:30 pm on 24 July 1938, after Harrer and Kasparek had been on the North Face for 85 hours and Heckmair and Vörg had been on it for 61 hours. The Austrians had had to bivouac three times, the Germans twice.

Taped inside the back pages of my copy of The White Spider are a series of clippings from newspapers around the world. They contain stories about the Eiger that were published after I bought Harrer’s book. A March 1961 article in the Johannesburg Star is about the first successful winter ascent of the Nordwand; a clipping from the London Evening News dated 3 August 1963 is headlined “Eiger Beaten Solo For First Time”; and an 8 January 1964 Hobart Mercury article tells the story of “three young Swiss alpinists [who] recently completed the first climb down the north wall of the Eiger”. In 1963 I was lucky enough to be lent my grandmother’s three-wheel Heinkel bubble-car. I drove to Dover, where I caught a cross-channel ferry to Ostend, and then spent two months travelling round “the continent” (as the English referred to Europe in those pre-EU days).

Four days later – on Thursday, 22 August 1963 – I arrived in Grindelwald, at the foot of the North Face of the Eiger, to pay homage to the mountain and the mountaineers who’d climbed the Nordwand. A picture of my miniscule car and the massive mountain are an amusing memento of the occasion. Forty-one years later, three of us – Caroline Ogden, Eric Hodge, and I – fresh from success on Mt Blanc, arrived in Switzerland hoping to climb the Eiger: not via the North Face, I hasten to add, but via the Mittellegi Ridge. However, the weather in the Bernese Oberland was dreadful, so we retreated to a lovely little village called Saas-Grund, in a valley immediately to the east of the Matterhorn and, as a consolation prize, I climbed Allalinhorn (4,027 metres) instead. Given that we rode via cable-car and train up to 3,500 metres, it was probably the easiest 4,000-metre peak I’ve ever climbed.

Nigel Roberts on the summit of Allalinhorn, a 4,000m peak in Switzerland. Ironically, though, the Eiger is not a 4,000-metre peak: its summit is “only” 3,970 metres above sealevel. However, that just goes to show that size isn’t everything. The Eiger is a mighty mountain, and its North Face is justly both famous and infamous. I salute Daniel Joll; I’m in awe of his and Chaz’s achievement. Posted: 31/05/16 Anderl Heckmair, My Life - Memoirs of an Eiger North Face pioneer - Anderl Heckmair (translated by Tim Carruthers) | Vertebrate Publishing Anderl Heckmair, My Life Memoirs of an Eiger North Face pioneer ISBN: Anderl Heckmair (translated by Tim Carruthers) Format: Reviews In 1938 Anderl Heckmair led the dramatic first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger – one of the most important events in the history of alpinism.

The press had named the Eiger’s north face the ‘Mordwand’, or ‘death wall’, and the Swiss attempted to ban climbers from it after a series of deaths on the mountain. Numerous attempts had been made on the peak before Heckmair, along with his German climbing partner Ludwig Vorg and the Austrians Fritz Kasparek and Heinrich Harrer, made their bid. During three days in July 1938 the two pairs linked up to make the first ascent of the long and committing North Face, fighting their way to success in deteriorating weather conditions. Heckmair’s account of their epic struggle forms the core of My Life. The climb was a propaganda windfall for the Nazi party, coming as it did in the build up to World War II. Although the Austrians had Nazi connections, the Germans had no overt political links, though they had received financial support for equipment and Heckmair, through the filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, had found himself on a Nuremburg balcony with Hitler, saluting a torch-lit procession. My Life provides a fascinating insight into the athletic, personal, fanatical and political mountaineering scene of the time.

Heckmair was a talented mountaineer, yet a private character, and these memoirs serve as a window both into the catalysing events of a personal obsession, and a wider political catastrophe. Born in Munich in 1906, Anderl Heckmair made history as one of the first four men to climb the Eiger in 1938. He negotiated a difficult relationship with the Nazi party throughout his life, after Hitler appropriated his success in the mountains for propaganda. After serving on the Eastern Front in World War II, Heckmair worked as a mountain guide and initiated the formation of a professional association for mountain guides. Twice married, Heckmair died in Germany in 2005.

Title: Anderl Heckmair, My Life Sub-title: Memoirs of an Eiger North Face pioneer Author: Anderl Heckmair Learn and talk about Anderl Heckmair, Alpine guides, German mountain climbers, German ski mountaineers, People associated with the Eiger Eiger first ascent[ edit ] Heckmair-Route on Eiger The most experienced mountaineer in a group consisting of himself, Ludwig Vörg , Heinrich Harrer and Fritz Kasparek , Heckmair led the most difficult pitches in the ascent, aided by the extensive kit (including new 12-point crampons ) that he and Vörg had purchased using sponsors' money. He ran into several problems on the North Face of the Eiger, including a slip while climbing out of the exit cracks; Ludwig Vörg caught him by his feet, piercing his hand on Heckmair's crampons as he did so. The success brought Heckmair fame throughout the world, but particularly in his native Germany. The reception included an audience with Adolf Hitler (whom Heckmair had met before after working with Leni Riefenstahl ).

Although the Nazis used his achievement for propaganda Anderl shunned the publicity and never joined the Nazi party. After serving on the Eastern Front in World War II , he worked as a mountain guide in his native Bavaria , and was one of the driving forces in the formation of a professional association for mountain guides. In addition to the Eiger climb, Heckmair climbed new routes on the Grandes Jorasses and many other alpine mountains. He also participated in expeditions to the Andes and the Himalaya . He was also partially responsible for the development of the "two rope" climbing system. In 1934, he took part as a reserve of the DSV team ( Franz Fischer , Gustav "Gustl" Müller , Matthias Wörndle ) in the Trofeo Mezzalama ski mountaineering competition. Heckmair started one and a half hour after the teams as single runner and overtook all the competing teams. [2] Anderl lived in Oberstdorf until his death.

Literature[ edit ] Uli Auffermann: Was zählt ist das Erlebnis: Anderl Heckmair - Alpinist und Lebenskünstler; das Porträt des großen Bergführers und Erstbegehers der Eiger-Nordwand. (Vorwort von Martin Schließler ). Semann Verlag, Bochum 2002, ISBN 3-00-008873-3 . Uli Auffermann, Anderl Heckmair: Zum Glück geht’s bergwärts. (Vorwort von Harry Valérien ). Tyrolia Verlag, Innsbruck 2005, ISBN 3-7022-2690-7 . Anderl Heckmair: Eigernordwand, Grandes Jorasses und andere Abenteuer. (Vorwort von Reinhold Messner ). AS Verlag, Zürich 1999, ISBN 3-905111-38-1 . David Pagel: My Dinner with Anderl. In: Allen Steck, Steve Roper: Ascent.

AAC Press, Golden, CO, 1999, ISBN 0-930410-80-7 , S. 13–26.

Question: July 1938 saw the first ascent of the North Face of which Alpine mountain?
Answer: The Eiger